KB Ambulance earning high marks from officials

Wednesday

After just over a year on the job as the paramedic provider to several northeast Connecticut towns, KB Ambulance is racking up some impressive numbers, regional officials said.

Since receiving the paramedic intercept contract in late 2016 for the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, or NECCOG, the Killingly-based ambulance company last year responded to 3,196 calls for service, including 2,386 advanced life support transports for those involving calls requiring a paramedic.

“They are performing as well, or better than expected,” NECCOG Executive Director John Filchak said. "They're percentage of pick-ups is in the high 90 percentile, which means they are not missing calls."

The most ambulance calls came from Killingly with 1,261 calls for service – more than double that of the next-highest town, Putnam.

KB Ambulance in December 2016 beat out three other applicants, including American Ambulance of Norwich, American Medical Response and Windham Ambulance for the 2 1/2-year contract that serves 10 NECCOG member towns.

Filchak said KB charges $95 per patient transport, though that price is expected to drop to $69 when subsidies from Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam and The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich are included. The council’s previous contract with American Ambulance cost $134 per transport, or $91 with the hospital contributions.

“And as part of the deal, KB will have one medic on duty 24 hours a day and a second one working for 12 hours during busier times of the day,” Filchak said.

During discussions on vendor selection, members of the council’s ambulance advisory group added new parameters for incoming vendors, including performance metrics that give participating towns information on dispatch times and mutual aid. Penalties for not meeting those standards will kick in during the second year of the contract, Filchak said.

"The contract also allows us the option to either renew the contract after the first year or go out to bid for another provider," he said. "There were some initial concerns from towns since KB had never done this kind of work on a regional basis. But it appears those concerns never became a reality. I haven't heard anything negative."

The contract award was a pleasant reversal of fortune for KB. The state in May 2016 rejected the town of Killingly’s request to have KB Ambulance replace American Ambulance as the town’s primary paramedic responder, preventing Killingly from breaking away from the regional program.

During a NECCOG meeting on Friday, Killingly Town Council member David Griffiths asked KB Ambulance Administrator Randy Daggett about the challenges of responding to calls where addresses aren’t clearly marked.

“It’s an issue, especially in rural areas,” Daggett said. “Some address markings on mailboxes, but not on houses which can be tricky if all the boxes are on the same side of the road. And if those numbers aren’t reflective, they don’t show up clearly without us using a spotlight.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.